Paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun

ABSTRACT

A paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun includes a gun barrel, a sleeve, a firing bolt and an end cap. The sleeve and the firing bolt are disposed in the gun barrel. The end cap is located at a rear end of the gun barrel. The gun barrel is formed with at least one window thereon. The sleeve is cylindrical and transparent. When malfunction happens in the gun barrel, the window and the transparent sleeve enables the user to find out the problems.

This application is a continuation in part of my application filed Nov. 20, 2007, Ser. No. 11/984,566, currently pending.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a paintball gun, and more particularly to a paintball gun having a gun barrel formed with at least one window and a transparent sleeve disposed in the gun barrel so that a user is able to see a firing bolt in the sleeve for finding out troubles easily.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Paintball guns use compressed gas to activate a filing bolt for firing paintballs. As shown in FIG. 6, a conventional paintball gun A comprises a sleeve, a firing bolt and an end cap disposed in a gun barrel A1. Another conventional paintball gun B, as shown in FIG. 7, comprises a sleeve, a firing bolt and an end cap disposed in a gun barrel B1. The gun barrel B1 is formed with a through hole B2 for fitting a decoration plate B3. Both the aforesaid paintball guns have the following shortcomings:

-   1. The gun barrel is an airtight design and made of non-transparent     material, and the sleeve, the firing bolt and the end cap are all     disposed in the gun barrel. When the gun has mechanical problems, it     is impossible to find out the reason for malfunction just by looking     at the outside of the gun barrel. The user has to disassemble the     gun for repairs. -   2. Compressed gas is stored in the gun barrel, if the firing bolt     does not work properly or other technical problems occur, the user     cannot figure out what the problem could be right away simply from     checking outside the gun, until he or she having trouble shooting,     at that time, more time and more money will be required to get the     problem fixed.

U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2006/0207586 A1 and 2006/0225718 A1 also have the above-mentioned shortcomings of the paintball gun.

Taiwan Patent Publication No. 525773 titled “a paintball gun having a replaceable gun barrel” and Design Publication No. 113369 titled “a paintball gun” disclose a gun barrel having open holes or apertures at respective two sides thereof. However, the holes or apertures are so small that the user can hardly see through and to identify the parts inside the gun barrel. Furthermore, without protection, dust or foreign objects can get into the gun barrel easily and damage the paintball gun.

U.S. Patent Publication No. 2003/0034020 A1 disclosed a paintball gun which has many of its parts made of transparent polymer material. The primary object is to make the paintball gun look cool, but so far, it has neither granted nor been seen on the market. Obviously, it has difficulties in manufacturing. The transparent polymer, as described in the specification column 2, comprises acrylics, nylon and polycarbonate, etc. Each of the materials has different characters from the others, such as the acrylics has better transparency but is fragile. It is obvious that this application only discloses an idea but does not provide any practical solutions to the problems.

We can also learn from the specification that the cost of manufacture is high and the parts are not strong enough to support the function of the gun, such as the cost varies from thickness of the transparent portions, further the joint of the transparent portions and non-transparent portions is weak in strength, not to mention the compressed air sealing. Thus, the combination of U.S. Patent Publication Nos. 2006/0207586 A1, 2006/0225718 A1 and 2003/0034020 A1 doesn't teach or imply a paintball gun which is provided with transparent portions to help the user inspect the interior movements.

On the other hand, in order to produce a paintball gun with transparent portions to see through the interior of the gun, it is necessary to improve the strength of the transparent portions and the strength of the air sealing on the joint of the transparent portions and non-transparent portions; furthermore, the location of the transparent portions in the gun barrel is also another issue for inventor to consider.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention, there is provided a paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, comprising:

a gun barrel, the gun barrel being in the form of an elongate tube and including a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end, the gun barrel being formed with a first window and a second window thereon, the gun barrel having an inner wall formed with at least one first annular groove for receiving a first O-shaped ring therein, a paintball dropping port being formed close to the front end of the gun barrel, the first window and the second window being located between the paintball dropping port and the rear end of the gun barrel;

a sleeve, the sleeve being hollow and transparent and disposed in the gun barrel, the sleeve corresponding in position to the first window and the second window;

a firing bolt disposed in the sleeve, the firing bolt having an outer periphery formed with at least one second annular groove for receiving a second O-shaped ring therein; and

an end cap located at the rear end of the gun barrel, the end cap having an outer periphery formed with at least one third annular groove for receiving a third O-shaped ring therein;

thereby, the first window of the gun barrel being adapted to observe the second O-shaped ring of the firing bolt that is operated in conjunction with the sleeve, the second window of the gun barrel being adapted to observe the third O-shaped ring of the end cap that is operated in conjunction with the firing bolt.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide a paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, which enables the user to monitor the interior of the paintball gun for any malfunction.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, which enables the user to monitor for foreign objects or abnormal movement.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, which makes the maintenance easier and faster.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, which enables the user to find abnormal movement of the gun and find out what causes the problem before malfunction occurs.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, which provides a gun barrel formed with at least one window and a transparent sleeve which is covered by an end cap and sealed by a third O-shaped ring of the end cap. Accordingly, the strength and air seal of the present invention are perfectly considered.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the gun in shooting motion;

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a paintball being fired;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a conventional paintball gun; and

FIG. 7 is a side view of another conventional paintball gun.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

A paintball gun 1 with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, comprises a gun barrel 11, a sleeve 2, a firing bolt 3 and an end cap 4.

The gun barrel 11 is in the form of an elongate tube and includes a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end. The gun barrel 11 is formed with a first window 12 and a second window 13 thereon. The gun barrel 11 has an inner wall formed with a plurality of first annular grooves 14. Each of the plurality of first annular grooves 14 receives a first O-shaped ring 15 therein. A paintball dropping port 16 is formed close to the front end of the gun barrel 11. The first window 12 and the second window 13 are located between the paintball dropping port 16 and the rear end of the gun barrel 11.

The sleeve 2 is hollow and made of transparent material. The sleeve 2 is disposed in the gun barrel 11 corresponding in position to the first window 12 and the second window 13.

The firing bolt 3 is disposed in the sleeve 2, and has an outer periphery formed with a plurality of second annular grooves 31. Each of the plurality of second grooves 31 receives a second O-shaped ring 32 therein.

The end cap 4 is located at the rear end of the gun barrel 11, and has an outer periphery formed with a plurality of third annular grooves 41. Each of the plurality of third annular grooves 41 receives a third O-shaped ring 42 therein.

To operate the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when external compressed gas enters the gun barrel 11 of the paintball gun 1, the plurality of first O-shaped rings 15 are adapted to seal the gun barrel 11 for preventing the compressed gas from leaking. After paintballs C are loaded from the paintball dropping port 16 into the gun barrel 11, the firing bolt 3 in the transparent sleeve 2 constantly move forward and backward to fire the paintballs C by pumping in and venting the compressed gas, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The reciprocal movement of the firing bolt 3 can be seen through the first window 12 and the second window 13. As shown in FIG. 3, the first window 12 can be seen through to facilitate observation of the second O-shaped rings 32 of the firing bolt 3 that is operated in conjunction with the sleeve 2. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the second window 13 can be seen through to facilitate observation of the third O-shaped rings 42 of the end cap 4 that is operated in conjunction with the filing bolt 3. Most important is that the windows 12 and 13 enable the user to check if the second O-shaped rings 32 and the third O-shaped rings 42 are secured in the second annular grooves 31 and the third annular grooves 41, respectively.

Therefore, if the firing bolt 3 is having trouble to shoot the paintballs C, which may be caused by the second O-shaped rings 32 disengaged from the second annular grooves 31, or the third O-shaped rings 42 disengaged from the third annular grooves 41, or lack of lubricant, all of the above-mentioned causes can be found out by simply looking at the windows 12, 13 of the gun barrel 11 for repairs later on. 

1. A paintball gun with a window design to monitor the interior of the paintball gun, comprising: a gun barrel, the gun barrel being in the form of an elongate tube and including a front end and a rear end opposite to the front end, the gun barrel being formed with a first window and a second window thereon, the gun barrel having an inner wall formed with at least one first annular groove for receiving a first O-shaped ring therein, a paintball dropping port being formed close to the front end of the gun barrel, the first window and the second window being located between the paintball dropping port and the rear end of the gun barrel; a sleeve, the sleeve being hollow and transparent and disposed in the gun barrel, the sleeve corresponding in position to the first window and the second window; a firing bolt disposed in the sleeve, the firing bolt having an outer periphery formed with at least one second annular groove for receiving a second O-shaped ring therein; and an end cap located at the rear end of the gun barrel, the end cap having an outer periphery formed with at least one third annular groove for receiving a third O-shaped ring therein; thereby, the first window of the gun barrel being adapted to observe the second O-shaped ring of the firing bolt that is operated in conjunction with the sleeve, the second window of the gun barrel being adapted to observe the third O-shaped ring of the end cap that is operated in conjunction with the firing bolt. 